Nylon is a polyamide fiber developed in the 1930's having a wide range of applications. There are several different versions of these “nylons”, which include various polyamides made using mono- or diacid and mono- or diamine monomers. The numbers usually appended to the “nylon” or “PA” part refer to the number of carbons in the reactive monomer.
All grades of nylon possess toughness and resiliency and have high fatigue strength. Resistance to oils and hydrocarbon solvents is also good. Almost all formulations are also self-extinguishing and retain stable mechanical properties at temperatures from −75° F. to above 225° F. They are widely used for latches, cams, gears, and many other moving parts due to their excellent abrasion and impact resistance. Nylon is also available in a variety of cast forms and mobdylidenum disulphide filled grades (Nylatron® GS). Most commercially available nylon fibres are based upon PA66, PA6, or a copolymer based upon those two nylons. Nylon fibres are used in a number of textile applications, most often in (1) as s outerwear (2) high strength textiles such as parachutes and tyres, (3) industrial fabrics, and (4) other high-strength fabric applications. The largest application worldwide for nylon yarn (or fibers) is as the face yarn of carpeting.
The ubiquitous use of NY in industry makes it a prime material candidate for a variety of applications where the NY comprises some or all of a surface. One of the drawbacks to using NY as surface is that materials that bind to NY are specific and lack flexibility as binding agents. So for example where a new coating for NY is desired, a new search for a NY binding molecule with the desired property must be conducted. The resulting search is costly in both time and resources and not guaranteed to be successful. A system that is flexible and can be easily tailored for a variety of materials to be bound to NY is needed. The use of peptides as linkers or binders to NY offers some potential in this regard.
Peptides having a binding affinity to polymer and plastic surfaces are known. For example, Adey et al., (Gene 156:27-31 (1995)) describe peptides that bind to polystyrene and polyvinyl chloride surfaces. Additionally, peptides that bind to polyurethane (Murray et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0098524), polyethylene terephthalate (O'Brien et al., copending and commonly owned U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0054752), and polystyrene, polyurethane, polycarbonate, and nylon (Grinstaff et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2003/0185870) have been reported. However, the use of such peptides to target NY surfaces has not been described.
There remains a need therefore for a peptide based reagent that binds NY that offers flexibility in bring a wide variety of materials to the NY surface with minimum investment in redesign. Applicants have solved the stated problem by providing peptide reagents comprising NY binding peptides (NYBP). The NY binding peptides of the invention may be modified with other functional or binding peptides allowing for the delivery of benefit agents to the NY surface or for the use of the reagents to adhere NY containing surfaces.